I think want fumbles up a lot of people when it comes to exercise/training is the belief that they have to put in significant efforts or choosing to do it tomorrow instead because they don't feel great today. Consistency is the number one factor to consider and unless one is looking to excel at their chosen activity or participate in high level events (Ironman, Transrockies, BCBR, etc) the duration + effort of your activity sessions is not nearly as important as you might think. As people get older and start adulting it for sure can be challenging to find the 2-4hrs needed to get out for a big ride on the bike multiple times per week, but people don't need to put in big training hours to reap rewards.
Short intense or moderate sessions (15-20min) will work wonders for helping to maintain the fitness you build up on the bigger rides and they can especially be useful to boost your anaerobic threshold (suffer threshold) which will help your performance dramatically. Not only that, but finding a way to commit to those two 15-20 minutes sessions per week will provide benefits in all other areas of your life as well such as helping to regulate mood which makes it it easier to get out for those training rides you might not overly fond of.
July 30, 2022, 2:30 p.m. - Mark
I think want fumbles up a lot of people when it comes to exercise/training is the belief that they have to put in significant efforts or choosing to do it tomorrow instead because they don't feel great today. Consistency is the number one factor to consider and unless one is looking to excel at their chosen activity or participate in high level events (Ironman, Transrockies, BCBR, etc) the duration + effort of your activity sessions is not nearly as important as you might think. As people get older and start adulting it for sure can be challenging to find the 2-4hrs needed to get out for a big ride on the bike multiple times per week, but people don't need to put in big training hours to reap rewards. Short intense or moderate sessions (15-20min) will work wonders for helping to maintain the fitness you build up on the bigger rides and they can especially be useful to boost your anaerobic threshold (suffer threshold) which will help your performance dramatically. Not only that, but finding a way to commit to those two 15-20 minutes sessions per week will provide benefits in all other areas of your life as well such as helping to regulate mood which makes it it easier to get out for those training rides you might not overly fond of.